Tracing Suffern Family

Re: Tracing Suffern Family

I am the Carolyn Suffern referred to by jimhwpt. Per pidderdennison also on this board, my 4th great-grandfather John Suffern, founder of the village of Suffern, NY, had a baby with his slave Kate in either 1802 or 1812. This baby Peter Suffern married a Ramapough Lenape woman, Sarah Mann. If one can trace their ancestry to Peter, this is the link to the Suffern family.

Patriarch John Suffern emigrated from his home in County Antrim, Ireland in 1763, eventually settling at the base of the Ramapo Pass in NY. He called this place New Antrim in honor of his home. During the Revolutionary War, General Washington and other important leaders visited his home. The name of the village was changed to Suffern with the opening of the Erie RR in 1841. John Suffern's son, Judge Edward Suffern had granted right-of-way across the six miles of land he owned to the Erie RR. In thanks they named their depot "Suffern's," thus leading to the present name of the village.

Suffern now is part of a new National Park Service National HIstoric Trail, the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route that honors the route followed by these leaders as they journeyed to Yorktown, VA, where they defeated the British in 1781, essentially ending America's War of Independence.

John Suffern had 11 children with his wife Mary, one with his second wife Elizabeth Bertolf (sp?), and this baby with Kate. John and Mary are buried in the cemetery of the Ramapo Reformed Church in Mahwah, NJ.

John Suffern's is descended from Trophime Suffern, a Huguenot who fled France in 1585, eventually settling in N. Ireland. Trophime was one of three brothers. The other brothers were staunch Catholics and were minor nobility in the French court. The most famous family member is Pierre Andre' de Suffren, (French spelling of name) who was a very famous admiral in 18th century France. The avenue beside the Eiffel Tower is named for him and the French navy continues to name a ship for him.

This is a lot of information in answer to a simple inquiry, but if one has interest in John Suffern and his descendants, this is some background info.